Orthodox Jewish bloc voting explained

Orthodox Jewish bloc voting is a political strategy used by Orthodox Jewish communities in the United States, predominately in New York and New Jersey,[1] [2] [3] to vote as a bloc as directed by local leadership.[4] [5] While Orthodox Jews as a group typically vote for Republican candidates on the national level, community leaders will often endorse local Democratic candidates if they are viewed as likely to win,[6] or if they could effectively represent the Orthodox community's interests in a majority Democratic caucus.[7]

Notable instances

In the 2000 United States Senate election in New York, the Hasidic village of New Square gave Democrat Hillary Clinton 1,400 votes, compared to just 12 for her Republican opponent.[8] Clinton's husband President Bill Clinton subsequently pardoned four New Square men convicted of defrauding government aid programs, which prompted allegations of vote trading.[8] Clinton denied that clemency for the men had come up when she visited New Square on the campaign trail, and federal prosecutors determined in 2002 that no wrongdoing had occurred.[8]

In the 2016 United States presidential election in New York, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump's highest statewide totals both came from Orthodox areas: Clinton won 96% of the vote in a district of New Square, while Trump won 90% of the vote in a district of Monsey.[9] In the 2020 election, Trump won 99% of the vote in the Satmar town of Kiryas Joel.[10]

In the 2023 New Jersey General Assembly election, Democrat Avi Schnall, an Orthodox rabbi, flipped a strongly Republican state legislative seat thanks to near-unanimous support from Orthodox leaders. Schnall won the heavily Orthodox town of Lakewood with 86% of the vote, a town which simultaneously gave Republican state senator Robert Singer (also endorsed by Orthodox leadership) 92% of the vote.[11]

In the 2024 New York 17th district congressional race, Orthodox Jewish voters who supported incumbent Mike Lawler registered en masse to vote in the Working Families Party primary, electing a placeholder candidate over Democrat Mondaire Jones, who was seeking the line.[12] Jones' loss of the Working Families line was seen as helping Lawler's prospects for the general election.[12]

Effects

Bloc voting has been noted to increase the political influence of Orthodox Jewish communities. In 2022, the New York Times wrote that city and state officials in New York had "avoided taking action" over Hasidic yeshivas that violated state laws, "bowing to the influence of Hasidic leaders who push their followers to vote as a bloc and have made safeguarding the schools their top political priority".[13] Due to bloc voting, local and statewide candidates in New York treat Hasidic community endorsements as critical, and few elected officials embrace positions that would antagonize them.[14]

Some Orthodox politicians in New York have regularly run unopposed due to high popular support, including on both the Democratic and Republican lines.[15] [16] In 2022, Republican New York gubernatorial nominee Lee Zeldin won the state’s heavily Orthodox 48th Assembly district by 66 points, but the district concurrently elected Democratic assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein, whom Republicans had not even run a candidate against.[17]

Decline

The prevalence of Orthodox Jewish bloc voting has been noted by some commentators to be declining in recent years, as Orthodox Jews increasingly vote based on personal conviction or participate in national ideological movements.[18] [19]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Nathan-Kazis . Josh . New York Candidates Court Hasidic Vote . The Forward . 2010-10-14 . 2024-07-09.
  2. Weiss, Steven I. "U.S. gets another Orthodox mayor", Jewish Telegraphic Agency, July 12, 2006. Accessed February 6, 2022. "That's certainly the case in Lakewood, where Meir Lichtenstein was inaugurated as mayor in January. Orthodox Jews make up nearly half of the village's 70,000 residents, and they often vote as a bloc, with a council of leaders determining whom they should support."
  3. Stilton, Phil. Jack Ciattarelli visits Lakewood, making a pitch for the Lakewood bloc vote, Shore News Network, May 31, 2021. Accessed February 6, 2022. "New Jersey candidate for Governor Ciattarelli this week visited Lakewood to lobby for that town's large and highly coveted 'bloc vote'. In politics, the Lakewood Orthodox Jewish community often votes as a bloc, but not always, guided by a council of rabbis and business owners in the growing city called 'the VAAD'. The Lakewood vote can often make or break a candidate's campaign and Ciattarelli knows that."
  4. Web site: Cuza . Bobby . Orthodox Jewish vote could prove critical in governor's race . Spectrum News NY1 . 2022-11-04 . 2024-07-09.
  5. Web site: Heilman . Uriel . The Hasidic bloc vote, Bernie and Hillary's Empire State of mind and other NY campaign notes . Jewish Telegraphic Agency . 2016-04-12 . 2024-07-09.
  6. Web site: Cohen . Haley . New York midterm elections: Ultra-Orthodox Jews get out vote for Zeldin . The Jerusalem Post . 2022-11-07 . 2024-07-09.
  7. Web site: Fox . Joey . From February: Lakewood’s Orthodox community wants a seat in the Democratic caucus. Could it happen? . New Jersey Globe . 2023-09-01 . 2024-07-09.
  8. Web site: Archibold . Randal C. . Prosecutors Clear Clintons In Clemency of 4 Hasidic Men . The New York Times . 2002-06-21 . 2024-07-09.
  9. Web site: Brum . Robert . Meaney . Michael G. . Presidential election: How Rockland voted . lohud.com . 2016-12-08 . 2024-07-09.
  10. Web site: Shanes . Joshua . A Hasidic village in New York is paving the way for a ‘white, Christian, conservative’ America . The Forward . 2022-02-22 . 2024-07-09.
  11. Web site: Fox . Joey . How Avi Schnall turned a deep-red legislative district blue . New Jersey Globe . 2023-11-09 . 2024-07-09.
  12. Web site: Fandos . Nicholas . How a New York Democrat Lost a Progressive Ballot Line to a G.O.P. Proxy . The New York Times . 2024-07-05 . 2024-07-09.
  13. Web site: Shapiro . Eliza . Rosenthal . Brian M. . Markowitz . Jonah . In Hasidic Enclaves, Failing Yeshivas Flush With Public Money . The New York Times . 2022-09-11 . 2024-07-09.
  14. Web site: Fitzsimmons . Emma G. . How the Hasidic Jewish Community Became a Political Force in New York . The New York Times . 2022-10-30 . 2024-07-09.
  15. Web site: Sandoval . Gabriel . Ranked Choice Voting Opponent Running No-Choice Council Race in Brooklyn . THE CITY - NYC News . 2021-04-07 . 2024-07-09.
  16. Web site: Runyeon . Frank G. . Simcha Felder's state Senate stronghold . City & State NY . 2018-05-07 . 2024-07-09.
  17. Web site: Solomon . Joshua . Zeldin's inroads highlight changing dynamics in Assembly for Democrats . timesunion.com . 2023-07-03 . https://archive.is/2OYo5 . 2023-07-03 . dead . 2024-08-16.
  18. Web site: The End of the Orthodox Voting Bloc? . Mosaic . 2016-11-08 . Schlomo . Zuckier . 2024-07-09.
  19. Web site: In Israel and America, Haredi Jews Are Starting To Vote Like Everyone Else . Eli . Spitzer . Mosaic . 2019-04-09 . 2024-07-09.

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